Well Guys this is what I got back from Dani, this evening, all the answers are exactly from what questions were written as you will see….
1) is there an *estimated* time for new missions/clans?
Exact dates would be misleading, even if estimates only. Mission 51 is next on schedule and I think it will be available in the Summer. (The amount of text that has to be translated, checked and tested is more than the total text of the first 17 missions. All upcoming king missions have much text that's why it takes longer to release them. Mission 55 is some 30% longer than mission 51 for instance.)
2) Why is it that it took a mass exodus from the game for him to take notice?
??
3) Why won't he respond on the forum?
If I read the forum then I would have even less time for development.
4) Why are others not being brought in to help with development? (I know a few qualified have volunteered to do it for free)
Yes, there are a few who do testing. Actually, a volunteer's game will be spoiled since (s)he knows of all options beforehand. On the other hand, the current bottleneck is translation from Hungarian.
5) Why can't we ask questions about timelines? Where is the issue with asking why we don't have clans when they were scheduled for implementation a long time ago?
You can ask, but the answers won't make you happy. Clans are being worked on.
Flyordie is working on many things and to say it nicely, Larkinor is not the most popular game.
6) What is the future of Larki? Is it worth continuing to play, or will we just be pushed farther and farther into the background?
?? There are a few development stages scheduled (=won't be canceled for sure, but don't know when it will happen). After clans, we will address a few issues that should help make Larkinor more popular (=more players). Missions will be released as time permits.
However, at a certain point every game will end. I think Larkinor won't include levels over 100. But reaching level 100 and completing all clan missions takes several years - well enough from a single game I guess.
7) If it's true that there will be no levels above 100, can we expect missions? Right now our highest mission can be done with a poorly created level 40.
I _think_ there won't be levels above 100. Personally, I see it pointless to make the game longer. Extensions that make the game wider (=more options to more players) are more likely to be implemented. There will be new missions. I think the total number of missions (king + pub + clan) will exceed 100. We are also examining, how missions could adapt to a player's level.
8) Are there going to be new challenges brought into the game?
Completing clan missions will take quite a while. Other extensions (=new challenges) will be evaluated only after the development stages I mentioned earlier have been completed.
9) And please add this in as a side note. My friends list on a non-Larki game grows daily. It's all people from Larki, and most of them are subs. But how long they will stay subs in Larki is up for grabs. I know my subs run out in about a month, and I will not be renewing them if no visible effort is made. I may not even then. It may be too late.
I do not see why you should stick to a single game for your lifetime. Players go, new players come - that's normal in any game. Also, your subbed Larkinor data will be kept for some time and you can check back any time and play for free.
10) Any information on the likelihood of clans would be appreciated, this has long been "promised" (at least expected) yet hasn't materialised. This is the one major update I am waiting for as are many other - its implementation would probably go some way to stopping the exodus away from larkinor to other games such as A.Q. and R/S.
I think clans will be released this year. Clans require pretty many changes to the engine and we do not want the game to slow down.(Anyway, did you know that AQ ends at level 120 that you can reach within a few weeks? Can you interact (trade, chat, fight) with others in AQ? I'm not telling Larkinor is superior, it's just different and we want to keep some of the key differences, that's why it will never turn into an RS type game.)
11) Would it be possible for Dani to come to chat at an arranged time so players can talk to him directly about where the game is going? (In the meantime thanks Mad for acting as messenger and hope family life is going well for you Dani).
Theoretically possible while practically difficult: besides time zone differences my schedule is rhapsodic in the Summer. If after this email session you still feel there is a need for online chat then we can arrange it.
Dani
Ps… Jas hope this answers your question as well!
